Skip to main content
a woman with long hair and a baby
Start your journey

Make your move

Posted by Ratna & Erica |

Criteos have plenty of opportunities to consider different career paths while remaining with the company. Ratna and Erica share their internal mobility experiences.

What were some of your reasons for joining Criteo originally?

Ratna: Based on my previous experience, as well as growing up with the Big 3 automakers in Detroit, I knew that I didn’t want to work for a big company. I was also looking for a new adventure, which Criteo offered as a company with strong technology and being a leader in ad tech. It was clear what they were looking for in their requisition and it sounded like a meaningful opportunity. The hiring process itself was really good. It begins with a tech screen, followed by an entire day panel. I came out of the interview process with a big grin, thinking, “I don’t know what it was like for Criteo but for me that was great!” After that, I swiftly got and accepted an offer; the company was very responsive.

Erica: I was working at HookLogic when it was acquired by Criteo. Among the HookLogic employees, I think there was some trepidation, not knowing exactly how Criteo would integrate our technology and what would happen to us. But we were continuously reassured that Criteo believe that the people who had built the technology were the best ones to continue it. We saw what it means to be an employee of Criteo and that they were serious in backing up their words and showing the value they placed in us by investing in the office and in us.

You’ve both made recent shifts in your career paths. What were they?

Ratna: It was three years ago that I joined Criteo as a data engineer. After 6 months, I was given the opportunity to lead an engineering team working on data insights. After 1 year, I decided that my professional interests were more in line with an individual contributor role and I transitioned back to a machine learning team.

Erica: I started at the end of 2016 in an engineering project management role with Criteo, overseeing a variety of engineering teams. At the beginning of this year, I jumped from R&D to the commercial side taking a job on the GPS team for Retail Media. I have an internal training management role, providing support to client solutions teams on how to respond to client questions about our products and on what’s going on in the industry.

Ratna, how did the conversation go about returning to an IC role?

Ratna: The conversation was open and honest. People are really nice here and I never got the feeling that there was something I shouldn’t say. My manager was very attentive, asking whether there was something he or the company could do. But my desire to move back was related to issues outside of work and everyone was respectful of my reasons. When I let my team know, they were curious but accepting and certainly not shocked. This type of move is something that Criteo talks about openly and encourages. I also started transitioning early, giving the company time to identify a successor, plan for the transition and set up a shadowing process so it all went very smoothly. There was also no change in my salary or seniority.

Erica, what kind of support did you get in making your move?

Erica: Criteo is transparent and upfront about allowing Criteos to post for different jobs, what’s called the “Criteo First” program. My relationship with my manager was very open and during our conversations, it had become very clear where I could go in my role, either People management or advancing along my current path. I said that I wanted to do something slightly different. When I heard about another opportunity on the commercial side, we talked again, then I had a series of interviews with the hiring manager and the team and ultimately got the job.

What are some of the Criteo qualities you like best?

Erica: For me, the transparency is really important. In my previous company, I didn’t always feel that I understood why decisions were being made. There seemed to be a tendency to pigeon hole information and it was only shared on a need-to-know basis. In Criteo, the culture is different. There’s an openness that makes me feel a part of the conversation.

Ratna: I’d say work-life balance. With Criteo, it’s not just lip service. Rather, it’s part of the day-to-day culture. I’ve never felt pressured by my job when I need to pay attention to my family or personal life. I also don’t feel like I’m going to get dinged for not responding immediately in the evening to a Slack message from my manager. And the fact that Criteo collects data points about work-life balance in the employee survey shows that it’s something that’s front and center for the company.

Any career tips you’d like to share?

Ratna: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I started out being shy and keeping my head down so it took a while to learn to do this. But I learned that having open dialogue can lead to other conversations and open other doors.

Erica: I agree with Ratna. Asking questions is important. A lot of my career path has been shaped from self-reflection and understanding my strengths. Criteo helps us to think about this throughout the year, not just with the formal milestones of mid-year and annual review but also through regular meetings with our manager where the agenda is up to the employee. Career development can always be on the agenda.

Ratna & Erica

Staff ML Engineer R&D & Global Senior Product and Industry Trainer, Retail Medi

The Future is Yours.

Search jobs